Police today asked for the public’s assistance to identify victims of a man accused of assaulting two young men, one of them a minor, in less than an hour’s time span in the Los Feliz area, which is under the Northeast LAPD Division jurisdiction.

John Everett Perry was released last week on bail; he is due in court on Oct. 21. Photo courtesy of LAPD

34-year-old John Everett Perry, a resident of Palm Springs, is accused of having approached a 15-year-old Hispanic boy at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 24. Perry told the teen he was a modeling agent and asked him if he was interested in modeling, according to Northeast LAPD Detective Michelle Gomez. Perry then lured him into his vehicle and sexually assaulted him there, Gomez said.

That same morning, about 45 minutes later and just a block away, at a Starbucks located in the 2900 block of Los Feliz Boulevard, Perry allegedly approached a second victim, a 25-year-old Caucasian male, and told him he was a fashion photographer. Perry then lured him to a bathroom and sexually assaulted him too, according to police.

“One of the victims is a juvenile and the adult is actually a very young looking adult—he definitely doesn’t look his age—so I’m sure so the intention was a younger man,” Gomez told EGP, responding to a question regarding whether the cases involve pedophilia.

Based on his M.O. [“Modus operandi”, or “method of operation”] and how easy it was for Perry to talk his victims into going to a secluded area, police believe there’s other victims who have not reported their assault.

Northeast LAPD Captain Jeff Bert said they worked with the Palm Springs Police Department to execute a search warrant and arrest him at his home last Wednesday, Sept. 25.

“We’re really interested in the fact that there might be more victims because this suspects motive operandi is very particular, he used no force, he was friendly and he used a ruse—interested in modeling—and really committed two crimes within minutes of each other,” Bert told reporters. “So frequency, the style of it, it doesn’t make sense. We personally believe there may be more victims out there that are too scared, because of the type of crime that occurred, to come to the police.”

Gomez said the crimes involve male victims, which is not very common, so they are concerned additional victims are afraid to report the crimes.

Northeast Area Sexual Assault detectives believe there could be more victims in Palm Springs, the Los Angeles area and Orange County, Gomez said.

Perry was described as Hispanic when the crimes were reported, but detectives believe he is part Asian. He is accused of sexual assault and committing lewd acts on a child under 16, according to police.

Perry was released on $75,000 bail the day after being arrested. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 21.

Anyone with information is asked to call the LAPD Northeast Area Sexual Assault Detective Gomez or Detective Salazar at (323) 344-5742. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).